


What's Inside a Soul?

by Spaceinmyhead



Series: In Regards To Souls [6]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant, Gen, Getting to Know Each Other, Magic, Oscar Pine-Centric, Social Anxiety, Training, dadpin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:01:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28143522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spaceinmyhead/pseuds/Spaceinmyhead
Summary: Now that they've reached the City of Mistral and found team RWBY and team JNR, Ozpin decides it's time that Oscar take the first step towards unlocking his magic.
Relationships: Oscar Pine & Ruby Rose, Ozpin & Oscar Pine
Series: In Regards To Souls [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2047118
Comments: 4
Kudos: 51





	What's Inside a Soul?

Meeting team RWBY and team JNR was an interesting experience. Between them and Qrow, Oscar was officially exhausted by the time he’d closed the door of his bedroom behind him. 

They’d all decided that he should have his own room due to his age. And while normally he might have fought them, told them that he wasn’t that much younger, he just didn’t have the energy for it.

“They’re a _lot_ ,” Oscar said to Ozpin once he was sitting down on his bed. 

Ozpin smiled from where he was standing at the window. He’d come up here much sooner that Oscar had, and he could only assume he’d been standing in the same position this whole time. 

“Indeed they are. Sometimes they overwhelmed even me when they were students at Beacon. I can remember more than one conversation with Glynda about what they’d gotten themselves into that time. There was never a dull day that’s for sure.”

His smile looked a bit sad, but Oscar didn’t comment on it. 

He started to unpack his backpack as he asked a few more questions. “When should we start training?”

“Tomorrow would be best. It’ll be like your physical training. Small things at first and then moving onto the bigger things once you’ve gotten the grasp of it.”

Oscar hummed in acknowledgment. That sounded okay. Surely the simple things for magic were far more fun than the simple things in combat training. 

“For now though,” Ozpin began as he turned away from the window, “You need to get some rest. I’ll be nearby if you need me.” 

He gave Oscar a pat on the shoulder and like that, he was gone through the door. 

Oscar sighed and collapsed into bed. He was so tired. Even full days of chores on the farm couldn’t relate to the exhaustion that filled his bones. 

He tried to close his eyes and drift off to sleep, but it just wouldn’t take him. With a groan of annoyance, he dragged himself off of the bed and over to the armchair that was placed next to the window. 

Earlier, he’d removed Long Memory from his belt and set it on the chair, which is where it still sat when he walked over to it. 

It didn’t look like anything remarkable. Just a retractable cane that had some personal touches to it. 

Nothing glowed, or made a sound, or even looked remotely interesting.

And yet it still had this weird pull that he could feel when he wasn’t holding it. 

It’s something he’s felt ever since Ozpin showed up, but had never really paid attention to. The moment Qrow had tossed it to him the feeling had left, making him feel almost complete, in a weird way.

With it sitting there on the chair and not in his hands, the feeling was back. Now that he knew what to look for, he could pinpoint a feeling of emptiness in the back of his neck that felt like a hole in his very being. 

He hadn’t told Ozpin about it, but he had a feeling the other man felt the same way when he was still alive. After all, Long Memory was technically a part of them.

He scooped up the cane and set it in his lap as he sat down in the chair. He could see the skyline of Mistral from here. With all the buildings looking like little spots of light from this high up. 

It was amazing. 

On the farm, the highest up he’d ever been was the one time his Aunt Em had asked him to climb up on the barn roof to fix a hole that had developed after the last storm. 

From up there, he’d been able to see over the tops of the trees that had towered over him when he was on the ground. He’d even been able to see the beginnings of the town. 

But up here on the top of Mistral, it felt like he was on top of the world. And in a way, he was. 

He clutched Loong Memory in his hands as he continued to stare. The feeling of the cane in his hand grounding him to this moment. 

Sometimes, he couldn’t believe that he was even here. All of this was so crazy that he could swear that he would all of a sudden wake-up and be back on the farm. But so far, he hadn’t.

His eyes started to grow heavy as he looked out at the skyline, and he decided he’d finally be able to go to sleep.

Reluctantly, Long Memory was put back on the armchair as he stood up. 

The moment his head touched the pillow, he was asleep. 

He woke up the next morning to a loud knocking on his door. 

He sighed and rolled out of bed, trudging over and opening the door. 

Ruby was standing outside, a smile on her face. “Hey Oz, I mean, Oscar! Breakfast is ready, and we thought you would like some.”

Ignoring her little slip up with his name, he nodded and yawned. “Just give me a second, I’ll be down soon.”

She shot him a thumbs up and then was gone in an eruption of petals. 

With the door closed behind him, he changed out of his nightclothes and back into his work clothes. 

He grimaced a bit when he looked at them. The pants were full of holes and the shirt was stained with green from the times he’d had to cut the grass. 

It would work for now, but eventually, he would have to go out and get himself proper fighting attire, like the rest of his group already had. 

However, his stomach grumbled and pulled him from those thoughts. He’d eaten dinner with the rest of them last night, but that was quite early. 

He hesitated, looking over at the armchair for a second, but eventually decided to grab Long Memory and hook it to his belt. With that and his scroll on his body, he finally headed down the hall to the kitchen.

Apparently, he was the last one up, as everyone else was grabbing some pancakes and heading over to the large table in the next room. 

The room fell quiet when he entered, and he flinched when he saw all eyes on him. 

“Um, good morning?” He said in a questioning tone, lifting a hand in greeting. 

Surprisingly, Yang was the first one to break the silence. “‘Morning Oscar! Ren made pancakes, so feel free to grab as many as you want. We usually talk about our plans for the day after we eat, so don’t worry about that too much right now!” Her happy tone made Oscar feel a bit better. 

“Thanks,” He replied with a smile, still ignoring the looks from everyone else. 

He sighed a bit inside. It was going to be hard to get to know everyone. It was clear that they were all close from their time at Beacon and they already had a good team dynamic. 

He’d assumed something like this would happen, but it still didn’t feel nice to be such a clear outlier. 

“You alright?” Came Ozpin's voice from behind him, as well as a familiar hand on his shoulder. 

“Yeah, it’s just a bit much,” He replied as he grabbed a few pancakes. 

Ozpin didn’t talk as Oscar walked over to the table, but did speak up once he was seated. 

“It is. Training today is just going to be you and me for now though, so you’ll get a chance to get away from all of this for a bit.”

“That sounds good.”

Ozpin didn’t say anything else after that, so Oscar began to eat. 

He didn’t say anything to the other people at the table, much more comfortable to just focus on his food. Each of them had their own conversations going on, and he was in no mood to try and integrate himself. 

But it seemed like everyone else understood that. Sure, he got a few glances from everyone but they did give him space. 

A “have a good day Oscar!” from Ruby was the only thing that was said to him the entire time, and she only said that to him once he’d cleaned up his plate and was headed out. 

He gave her a wave and a small smile before slipping out the front door with Ozpin right behind him.

“So, where are we going to practice?” He asked as the door closed behind him.

Ozpin started to walk as he talked. “I scouted around last night while you were asleep. The roof is flat and has enough space for what we’ll need. There’s a small staircase around the side.”

“So that’s what you did while I was sleeping?” He asked as they started to walk. 

“Well, that and a few other things. I checked up on a few places I remember from my last time here, just to see how things were going.”

“And?”

Ozpin grimaced, “Let’s just say it’s not that good. A far few shops have gone out of business due to the CCT’s shut down and the panic that arose from it.”

“That must suck,” Oscar said quietly. Ozpin just nodded and started up the stairs. 

The roof was large, just as Ozpin had said. There were marks on the ground from the other teams coming up here to practice, but other than that it was empty. 

Ozpin gestured for him to stop once they got to the middle of the roof. 

He pulled out his own Long Memory before he began to speak. 

“You and I have talked about magic a few times, but not at the lengths that we’re going to go over now.” He clicked Long Memory into its cane form and lent on it. “However, before we go about unlocking your magic, we need to train your soul. If we were to unlock your magic now, your soul wouldn’t be able to accept it and you wouldn’t be able to use it.”

He smiled, “It’s not the most fun thing, but once we do it once we don’t have to do it again. Now, close your eyes.”

Oscar complied and his world became dark. Ozpin’s voice started to circle around him as the man started to walk. “First, you need to locate your soul. It’s the very center of your being. Think of it as the middle of a ball of yarn. Everything that’s outside of it still ties back into the center. Once you can find that first strand, you should be able to find the center. 

“Let all of your senses start to fall away. Touch, sight, smell, all of it.”

It took a few minutes, but soon the world around him seemed to dull. And yet Ozpin's voice sounded a little bit louder. 

“Good, you’re doing great Oscar. Now, imagine yourself reaching out into the darkness and finding that first strand. Like a piece of knitting yarn.”

He imagined his hand reaching out in front of him and grasping in front of him, and to his surprise, there was a slight quiver of a piece of string. Gently, he moved his hand so that the string was held in between his fingers.

“That should lead you to your soul. Start following it. There should be a slight pull in the correct direction.”

The pull he was talking about felt just like the pull he felt from Long Memory, only this time he could feel it in his chest. It tugged at him stronger and stronger as he walked, and he had to fight himself to not walk faster.

The darkness around him got darker, but the string he was holding became visible. It was light green and slightly glowed. From the corner of his eye, he could see another string, and then another, and then suddenly he was surrounded by hundreds if not thousands of them. 

“Keep your attention in front of you, Oscar. It’s easy to get lost inside of your own mind.”

He pulled his attention off of the strings and faced ahead of himself. 

In front of him, there was what looked to be a green flame. It flickered in the darkness, and every once in a while it would shoot out a spark, which would then become a new string. 

“That there is your soul. Go up and touch it. Don’t worry, it won't hurt you.”

He let the string go from his hand as he walked up to the strange green flame. It almost seemed to lean towards him as he got close.

Following Ozpin's guidance, he carefully put his arm out into the flame. It was slightly warm, but not hot like actual fire. If anything, it felt more like a hug from his Aunt Em, or the sun on a spring day. 

“You’re doing great. This is the last part. You need to imagine your soul as being a container for you to put things in. Don’t change its shape, just open up a space in the middle of it.”

His brows slightly furrowed, he did just that. Except it felt like something was fighting him. He had the temptation to give up, but Ozpin spoke again.

“Your soul is very strong, which is why it’s fighting you. The soul doesn’t like to be changed, and it doesn’t like to accept new things. But you are the one who has power over it. It’s your soul. Show it that.”

He grits his teeth and starts again. The resistance was back, but he ignored it and continued to try and open up a space in it. 

But with a final push, the green flame shot up into the sky, and with it created a multitude of new strings. 

“Congratulations Oscar, you did a phenomenal job. Now, take your hand out of the flame and focus on returning your senses.”

Gradually, the sounds of birds returned and so did the feeling of wind on his face. And when all of that was back, he slowly opened up his eyes. 

He had to blink a few times at how bright it was, but after a few seconds of acclimating he looked over to Ozpin. 

The other man was smiling at him from where he was standing a few feet away, still leaning against his cane. 

“Did I do it right?” Oscar asked, clearing his dry throat. 

Ozpin's smile widened. “You did perfect. Your potential for magic is so much larger than any of Ozma’s precious souls, and that is frankly amazing.”

Oscar smiles back. He didn’t really know what that meant, but it had to be good. 

He walked over to him and put his hand on his shoulder. “You are meant for great things Oscar, and I will do everything in my power to get you there.”

“I promise”

**Author's Note:**

> Have to admit, this has to have been my favorite to write so far. I love world-building and putting my own hc's into things, so this was just so much fun. This is only the beginning of Oscar and his magic, so look out for more in the future! As always, I hope you enjoyed it and a new part will be out soon! Let me know if there are any errors or any missing tags! 
> 
> Follow me on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/spaceinmyhead13)!


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